Steve Pinizzotto | Winger | #13

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In 2014-15, he split time with the Edmonton Oilers and Oklahoma City Barons. In 18 games with the Oilers, he earned four points and 30 penalty minutes. He posted 11 points and 117 minutes in the sin bin in 25 matches in the minors. Tue, May 26, 2015 05:13:00 PM

Strome gave the team a 2-0 lead and he added a blocked shot and a hit over 14:29 of ice time. He has lit the lamp in back-to-back games, including the game-winner at Colorado on Sunday. He posted a point in a season-high three straight games from Jan. 25 to Feb. 5, and that happened just once. Mostly, he has struggled at the offensive end and that makes him worth using only in deeper fantasy pools until the points come a little more regularly. The two-game goal streak is a nice start.

Mark Letestu will be a healthy scratch in Thursday's game against the Calgary Flames.

Letestu has gone 14 games without collecting a single point. This will be the first game that the Oilers forward misses all season. He has eight goals and eight assists in 48 games this season. Yohann Auvitu and Anton Slepyshev will also serve as healthy scratches in this one.

Patrick Maroon posted a goal with an assist and a plus-1 rating in Monday's 7-5 loss against the Panthers.

Maroon is a streaky player, so perhaps this is the start of a hot run for the veteran. He hadn't scored since Jan. 20, the final outing of a three-game run with four goals and an assist. He is an impending unrestricted free agent this summer, so Maroon's named has been bandied about leading up to the NHL trade deadline. With the Oilers underachieving this season Maroon could be sent packing soon.

Lucic has not scored in the 18 contests. "For me (17 games before Saturday's 6-4 loss to the Sharks in which he was pointless yet again) is the second longest slump I’ve ever had in my career," said Lucic. "I’ve had chances. You look at the LA game, you hit two posts in the third period. When things are going good for you those are automatics, they go in. When it’s not going your way they don’t find the back of the net. But you have to try and do whatever you can to create opportunities and chances. Almost simplify things. Sometimes taking a step back will make you go two steps forward. You hope you get into the right area to get that bounce and you hope that it starts for you sooner than later." Lucic has nine goals and 30 points in 54 games with 61 penalty minutes.

Cammalleri has only been held off the scoresheet once in his last six games. It's an interesting time for him to get hot as it might make it easier for the Oilers to shop him before the trade deadline. He has five goals and 21 points in 48 contests this season.

Jujhar Khaira netted his ninth goal of the season in Tuesday's 3-2 loss against the Bruins.

Khaira gave the Oilers a 2-0 lead, and they carried that into the third period before the Bruins found their offense and skated away with a 3-2 comeback road win. It was Khaira's first goal since Jan. 20, and just his second since Dec. 27. He remains useful only in the very deepest of fantasy pools until further notice.

Anton Slepyshev was put on the top line part way through Saturday's game.

Slepyshev has been a huge disappointment this season, especially after his performance in the playoffs, but Saturday he replaced Leon Draisaitl on the top unit with Connor McDavid and Patrick Maroon as coach Todd McLellan was looking for a spark. He has only three goals and six points this season but if he remains with McDavid, his fantasy value will jump up immensely.

At this point, the Oilers realize that personal pride and their sense of professionalism is about all they have left to play for.

With 52 points in 58 games, Edmonton is 19 points behind in the battle for a playoff spot. That's not a gap a team can realistically close at this stage of the season. "Let’s not kid ourselves, to get into the playoffs we’re going to need a miracle," admitted Zack Kassian. "None of us want to be in this position. It sucks. There are no ifs ands or buts about that. The expectations we had at the beginning of the year to where we are now, it’s very disappointing. But we have 24 hockey games left and we can’t just mail it in." At least a strong finish to the season might give the Oilers some reason for optimism, but regardless there's going to be a lot of questions directed at managements handling of the roster this offseason, especially given how trades like those involving Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, and the draft pick that became Mathew Barzal have gone.

Drake Caggiula (mouth) was healthy enough to play in Monday's 7-5 loss against the Panthers.

Caggiula scored midway through the second period while posting a pair of hits across 9:40 of ice time. Despite the score he isn't a recommended fantasy option in most pools as he skates on a checking line and doesn't log nearly enough ice time per contest.

Jesse Puljujarvi scored a goal and picked up two assists in a 5-2 win over the Minnesota Wild.

Puljujarvi scored the game-winning goal, scooping up the rebound off Adam Larsson's point shot and putting it in behind Jacob Markstrom for his ninth of the year. The former fourth overall pick is now up to 14 points in 30 games and is always someone to keep an eye on because of his immense offensive potential. Patrick Maroon (x2), Leon Draisaitl and Jujhar Khaira also scored in the win.

Iiro Pakarinen will be a healthy scratch in Tuesday's game against the Boston Bruins.

Pakarinen has just one goal and one assist in 24 games this season. This will be the fifth consecutive game he watches from the press box. Yohann Auvitu will also serve as a healthy scratch in this one, while goalie Al Montoya is out due to a head injury.

Oscar Klefbom picked up an assist with four blocked shots in Monday's 6-2 win against the Lightning.

Klefbom missed a little time due to a shoulder injury in December, but he has still logged 103 blocked shots through 47 outings to rank in the Top 30 in the category. The rearguard has managed just three goals and 12 points and he still is well into the negative in plus/minus rating, but he can be useful in deeper fantasy pools for his willingness to sacrifice the body and get in front of shots.

Unfortunately for the Oilers, they dropped a 1-0 decision to the Arizona Coyotes. Larsson missed eight games for personal reasons (his father passed away). The Oilers blue liner finished the night with four penalty minutes, three shots on goal, two hits and six blocked shots. Once he's back into game-shape, he should see an increase in ice time.

Matt Benning posted an assist with a plus-1 rating across 18:53 of ice time in Monday's 6-2 win against Tampa Bay.

Benning was also busy posting three shots on goal, three blocked shots and a pair of hits in the victory. The rearguard has totaled four goals and eight assists through 46 outings with a plus-4 rating, but his real value to fantasy owners in deeper pools is in the hits (79) and blocked shots (52) categories.

Now that Hall of Famer Paul Coffey has joined the Oilers as a skills development coach, Darnell Nurse is hoping to learn from him to develop his offensive game.

"That was one of the strongest parts of his game, the ability to make plays offensively," said Nurse of Coffey. "For a guy like myself, it’s something I’m looking forward to to help grow my game. Just being a part of this organization you hear a lot of stories of him coming up with Gretzky and Messier, how smooth he was as a player, his ability to move the puck, scoring 48 goals in a season. All those things kind of speak for themselves. It will be cool to pick his brain." Nurse has six goals and 18 points in 47 contests this season and even that is a big jump for the 22-year-old offensively. It'll be interesting to see if Coffey can help Nurse grow offensively and it will be worth monitoring Nurse over the months to come.

Yohann Auvitu picked up an assist with two hits over 14:08 of ice time in Monday's 7-5 loss against Florida.

Auvitu has picked up a point in back-to-back games for the first time since a three-game scoring run from Nov. 14-24. Despite the two-game run he is only worth fantasy consideration in the deepest of pools until further notice.

Cam Talbot allowed three goals on 45 shots in Tuesday's 3-2 loss against the Bruins.

Talbot was peppered again, as the defense was nearly non-existent. The Bruins popped off 13 shots in the first period, 18 in the second and 14 in the third. Talbot was standing on his head, holding Boston scoreless through the first 44:37 before the floodgates opened for three goals. It's a recurring theme, as the Oilers have had plenty of power outages this season and lapses on defense, leaving Talbot out on an island. That's not good for his overall fantasy appeal.

Al Montoya did not play on Saturday after being hit in the neck by the puck in practice Friday.

Laurent Brossoit was recalled for Saturday's tilt against Arizona and the worry in Edmonton is that Montoya could have suffered another concussion as he had one this season when with the Canadiens. "We’ll have to evaluate him in the morning," coach Todd McLellan said Saturday. "It’s a situation where we have to evaluate him on a day-by-day basis. I think he looked a lot better this afternoon than he did yesterday afternoon." Montoya is 3-2-1 this season with a 3.23 GAA and a .879 save percentage.